WESLEY CHAPEL, Fla. -- A couple involved in a police chase ended a standoff with authorities on Interstate 75 when they disrobed and ran out of their borrowed truck, the Florida Highway Patrol said. Nicholas Daicoff, 29, was charged Tuesday with fleeing and attempting to elude police, domestic battery, leaving the scene of a crash and resisting an officer without violence. He was being held without bail at the Land O' Lakes jail.

He was accused of hitting his wife, Louisa Meyer, 28, during the chase, and telling her to strip her clothes during a 45-minute standoff with officers because it would make the problem go away, the FHP said.

The ordeal began when trooper Chris Todd saw a Ford F-150 pickup truck with a missing tire and started to pursue it near the Hernando-Pasco county line.

The right front rim sparked as the truck sped along at 85 mph, but the driver, Daicoff, wouldn't stop, the FHP said. The tire had come off during a hit-and-run crash in Sumter County on I-75, troopers said.

Three motorists also called 911 to complain that a man in a Ford truck was beating a woman passenger, FHP said.

Once the truck stopped, Todd saw Daicoff punching Meyer in the face and body, officials said. Todd used a loudspeaker to order Daicoff to exit the truck, but the couple just sat inside because Daicoff refused to leave the truck he had borrowed from his roommate.

As deputies and troopers surrounded the vehicle, the couple removed their clothing and threw it out the truck's window.

Just before 5:30 p.m., Meyer got out and ran toward troopers, but Daicoff's screams of "I love you" caused her to stop, the FHP said. When Daicoff tried to run after her, officials intercepted and arrested him.

Meyer suffered abrasions to her face, neck and arm but refused medical treatment. She said she agreed to take off her clothes out of desperation, the FHP said.

Daicoff, of St. Pete Beach, is a licensed contractor who married Meyer in November, records showed.

The right front rim sparked as the truck sped along at 85 mph, but the driver, Daicoff, wouldn't stop, the FHP said. The tire had come off during a hit-and-run crash in Sumter County on I-75, troopers said.

But But But...I thought Fords rolled over and killed people when the tire blows out.

You want pics? Fox news covered the story this afternoon. They showed the cops leading the woman away, but the camera was too far away to show anything. Looked as if they were filming from a helicopter.

When I was about 13 my Uncle was the Chief of Police in my hometown. He was giving me a ride to a CYO center youth dance in his police car when he got a call on his radio telling of an accident. Since he was closest to the scene he answered and we arrived there in about 2 minutes. There was a brown van partially turned on its side in a ditch. My Uncle managed to pry the rear door open and out came spilling 6 hippies. Two guys and four girls. Not a one of them had a stitch of clothes on. Needless to say it is one of my favorite experiences of riding in his police cars.

38
posted on 02/19/2003 3:30:25 PM PST
by sinclair
(Hey, I just come in here for nothin'... Hope I'm not wastin' anybody's time.)

WESLEY CHAPEL - As hostage negotiators hovered nearby, Nicholas Daicoff sat in a borrowed Ford F-150 pickup truck on Interstate 75 and contemplated his next move. He decided to get naked.

The 29-year-old newlywed told his bride, Louisa Meyer, that shedding their clothes would make them ``appear closer'' and the situation would ``go away,'' Meyer, 28, told the Florida Highway Patrol after her ordeal Tuesday evening. She said she agreed to strip out of desperation.

The ordeal began when Trooper Chris Todd spotted a truck with a missing tire and started a pursuit near the Hernando-Pasco county line. The right front rim sparked as Daicoff sped along at 85 mph, but he wouldn't stop, troopers said. The tire had come off during a hit-and-run crash in Sumter County on Interstate 75, troopers said.

Three drivers had called 911 to complain that a man in a Ford truck was ``beating a woman passenger,'' troopers said. One caller accused him of waving a pistol.

Once the truck came to a stop, Todd saw Daicoff punching Meyer in the face and body, officials said. He used a loudspeaker to order Daicoff to stop and exit the truck. Instead, the couple sat on the shoulder, about a quarter-mile north of State Road 54, surrounded by Pasco County sheriff's deputies and highway patrol troopers for about 45 minutes. The interstate was deserted except for cruisers that packed the median. Rush- hour traffic was backed up from the exits at State Roads 52 and 54.

Negotiations were at a standstill.

Daicoff refused to leave the truck he had borrowed from his roommate, James Wallace.

He tried to crank the engine, but it wouldn't budge. Even if it had, troopers said, he wouldn't have gotten far.

As deputies and troopers waited, the couple removed their clothing and threw it out the truck's window. Just before 5:30 p.m., Meyer got out and ran toward troopers. But Daicoff's screams of ``I love you'' caused her to stop, troopers said. When he tried to run after her, officials intercepted him.

Meyer suffered abrasions to her face, neck and arm but refused medical treatment, troopers said. Officials did not find a weapon in the truck.

Daicoff was charged with fleeing and attempting to elude police, domestic battery, leaving the scene of a crash, and resisting an officer without violence. He was being held without bail Tuesday night at the Land O' Lakes jail, a deputy said.

Daicoff, of St. Pete Beach, is a licensed contractor who married Meyer in November, records state. They were returning from visiting her parents in Newberry when something went awry, investigators said. He has no criminal history, according to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.

Meyer told troopers her husband had been depressed recently.

###

This is priceless: "The 29-year-old newlywed told his bride, Louisa Meyer, that shedding their clothes would make them ``appear closer'' and the situation would ``go away.'"

You made your comments in jest, but I'll bet there's an ambulance chaser out there ready to sue the roommate and Ford Motor Company on behalf of his aggrieved, and naked, client. Of course there will be a substantial cut in it for him.

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